By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Published: November 6, 2007

A court in Jodhpur ordered a police investigation into accusations that Jaswant Singh, the foreign minister in the last administration of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and now a member of Parliament, served opium-laced drinks at a party last week. Mr. Singh denied any wrongdoing. ''It is a very old custom to serve opium when near and dear ones are invited,'' television networks quoted him as saying. ''But at my function no opium was served, and it was a mix of water from the Ganges, molasses and tea.''